Joseph Shapirohttp://wvasfm.org
enStudy Finds Court Fees Also Punish The Families Of Those Who Owehttp://wvasfm.org/post/study-finds-court-fees-also-punish-families-those-who-owe
A <a href="http://www.communityalternatives.org/pdf/Criminal-Justice-Debt.pdf">new report on the growth of court fines and fees</a> that are charged to often-impoverished offenders is focusing on another group that pays: their families.<p>Titled "When All Else Fails, Fining the Family," the study finds that impoverished people who go through the criminal justice system almost always get cash from family and friends to help pay their court-ordered fines, even though those family and friends are often poor, too.Thu, 29 Jan 2015 22:51:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro60986 at http://wvasfm.orgStudy Finds Court Fees Also Punish The Families Of Those Who OweMassachusetts Will Limit Practice Of Restraint And Seclusion In Schoolshttp://wvasfm.org/post/massachusetts-will-limit-practice-restraint-and-seclusion-schools
Massachusetts is one of a growing number of states that are putting new restrictions on the practice of restraining and secluding public school students.<p>The techniques — which have been blamed for harming students and in at least 20 deaths — were used more than 267,000 times in a recent school year, according to an <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/06/19/322915388/national-data-confirms-cases-of-restraint-and-seclusion-in-public-schools">analysis</a> last year of federal data by NPR and <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/schools-restraints-seclusions">ProPublica</a>.<p>Starting this Fri, 09 Jan 2015 22:08:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro60001 at http://wvasfm.orgHow Driver's License Suspensions Unfairly Target The Poorhttp://wvasfm.org/post/how-drivers-license-suspensions-unfairly-target-poor
<em>This is the second of two stories. Read the first story <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/12/29/372691960/cant-pay-your-fines-your-license-could-be-taken">here</a>.</em><p>If you get caught drinking and driving in Wisconsin, and it's your first offense, you lose your license for nine months. For a hit-and-run, the punishment is suspension for one year.<p>But if you don't pay a ticket for a minor driving offense, such as driving with a broken tail light, you can lose your license for two years.<p>"It's an incredible policy," says John Pawasarat of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.Mon, 05 Jan 2015 08:31:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro59719 at http://wvasfm.orgHow Driver's License Suspensions Unfairly Target The PoorAlabama Settlement Could Be Model For Handling Poor Defendants In Ferguson, Mo. http://wvasfm.org/post/alabama-settlement-could-be-model-handling-poor-defendants-ferguson-mo
There may be a model for court reform in Ferguson, Mo., in a legal settlement that happened quietly this week in Alabama.<p>The city of Montgomery agreed to new polices to avoid jailing people who say they are too poor to pay traffic tickets.Thu, 20 Nov 2014 22:26:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro57750 at http://wvasfm.orgAlabama Settlement Could Be Model For Handling Poor Defendants In Ferguson, Mo. Ferguson's Plan To Cut Back On Court Fees Could Inspire Changehttp://wvasfm.org/post/fergusons-plan-cut-back-court-fees-could-inspire-change
Here are just a few of the fees the city court in Ferguson, Mo., can bill you for:<p>There's a fee to plead guilty. That's $12.<p>You even pay for your own arrest warrant.<p>"The sheriff can charge you for the mileage that it costs them to serve a bench warrant," notes Alexes Harris, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Washington.<p>Each individual fee may seem small, but there are at least a dozen, and they add up. Harris, on her computer, pulled up Ferguson's municipal code.<p>There's a $2 fee for every court visit.Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:01:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro54326 at http://wvasfm.orgFerguson's Plan To Cut Back On Court Fees Could Inspire ChangeNational Data Confirm Cases Of Restraint And Seclusion In Public Schoolshttp://wvasfm.org/post/national-data-confirms-cases-restraint-and-seclusion-public-schools
The practice of secluding or restraining children when they get agitated has long been a controversial practice in public schools. Now, new data show that it's more common than previously understood, happening at least 267,000 times in a recent school year.<p>NPR worked with reporters from the investigative journalism group ProPublica, who compiled data from the U.S.Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:59:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro49973 at http://wvasfm.orgNational Data Confirm Cases Of Restraint And Seclusion In Public SchoolsMichigan's High Court Limits The Fees Billed To Defendantshttp://wvasfm.org/post/michigans-high-court-limits-fees-billed-defendants
Transcript <p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.<p>MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: <p>And I'm Melissa Block. Michigan's top court, today, moved to put limits on what local governments can charge defendants who go through the court system. The court ruled in a case we told you about last month of a man who got billed more than a thousand dollars for his court costs.Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:32:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro49974 at http://wvasfm.orgSupreme Court Ruling Not Enough To Prevent Debtors Prisonshttp://wvasfm.org/post/supreme-court-ruling-not-enough-prevent-debtors-prisons
Debtors prisons were outlawed in the United States nearly 200 years ago. And more than 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear: Judges cannot send people to jail just because they are too poor to pay their court fines.<p>That decision came in a 1983 case called <em>Bearden v. Georgia</em>, which held that a judge must first consider whether the defendant has the ability to pay but "willfully" refuses.<p>However, the Supreme Court didn't tell courts how to determine what it means to "willfully" not pay.Wed, 21 May 2014 09:22:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro48415 at http://wvasfm.orgSupreme Court Ruling Not Enough To Prevent Debtors PrisonsBig Fees For The Big Easy's Poorest Defendantshttp://wvasfm.org/post/big-fees-big-easys-poorest-defendents
In the next installment of an <a href="http://www.npr.org/series/313986316/guilty-and-charged">NPR investigation</a>, Joseph Shapiro goes to New Orleans to look at the ways poor people are charged for their public defender in court. <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Big+Fees+For+The+Big+Easy%27s+Poorest+Defendants&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAyOTk4OTc0MDEyNzcxNDIzMTZjM2E3Zg004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.Tue, 20 May 2014 20:27:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro48383 at http://wvasfm.orgUnpaid Court Fees Land The Poor In 21st Century Debtors' Prisonshttp://wvasfm.org/post/unpaid-court-fees-land-poor-21st-century-debtors-prisons
Debtors' prisons were outlawed in the United States back before the Civil War. But an NPR <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/312455680/state-by-state-court-fees">state-by-state survey</a> found that people still get sent to jail for unpaid court fines and fees. <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR.Tue, 20 May 2014 10:17:00 +0000Joseph Shapiro48336 at http://wvasfm.org